Tuesday, 21 January 2014

So I've just written a post about the gig I went to see last night and realised that this was my first blog post in 6 months, so I shall try to vaguely bring you up to date...

August was a quiet month for me as all the comedians were up in August, so it was nice to have some time off! In September a friend and I went to a recording of Newsjack. I'm not a huge fan of TV and Radio recordings, but as he had tickets and Maragret Cabourn-Smith was in it I had to go.

I went to a couple of RHLSTPs in September and October and in November went to one of my locals to see Richard Herring do a preview for his Meaning Of Life show. I saw the first episode being recorded a couple of weeks later.

Not a lot happened in December, other than the recording of Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle where we saw 4 episodes being recorded. I'm really looking forward to the 3rd series being broadcast, and glad to hear there is a 4th series commissioned.

This month I went to a new comedy night at The Wenlock and Essex. Locally I have also been to a few nights at Angel Comedy which are totally free and always busy.

So, for 2014:

Pointless Anger: Righteous Ire is back with Robin Ince and Michael Legge plus guests which take place at the Comedy Bar. I went to the first one and had a thoroughly great time. They are happening on the first Tuesday of the month.

Richard Herring's Meaning Of Life continues too. I went to a preview of the second show at the Old Queens Head (where I also saw Bec Hill and David Trent), but I can't make the show proper this time.

Other things for me to look forward to are a new series of RHLSTP. due to my rota I can only make the first show, which has an unnamed, but apparently big name guest. (Please be Rik Mayall. Please be Rik Mayall), Robin Ince's Dirty Book Club as well as the return of Los Quattros Cvnts, except this time they are now Los Quintos Cvnts, with the addition of a girl one. I know who it is but I'm not sure if it's meant to be a secret or not, so I'll leave you guessing.

I've got into a few newer podcasts. As well as my standard ones such as all the Richard Herring ones, The Bugle, Film Fandango, Comedian's Comedian, POTOm and People With Stories, I have also got into ManBuyCow, By The Way with Jeff Garlin, and Sean Hughes: Off The Radar. give them a go.

OK this blog has been a bit crap. (I did this, then I did that), but I just thought I would fill in the gaps.

I found a quietish spot in the Soho Theatre bar and leaned by the blackboard, waiting for Bob and Twon to arrive. I played on Twitter for a bit then eventually read who was performing that night. Bridget Christie downstairs, John Kearns upstairs and in the main theatre, Tommy Tiernan. What a line up, and I really wanted to see all of them. However, tonight was a Bridget night.

As you probably know, I adore Bridget and have seen 2 previews of this show before the Fringe. She then took it to Edinburgh and won the Fosters prize (still known to most people as the Perrier Award), quite shockingly becoming only the 3rd woman to win it. Her previous shows that I have seen (War Donkey and the one about A Ant) were allegories of feminism, but in this show she tackles the subject head on.

She seemed in a particularly jaunty mood tonight, shaking the front row's hands as she came on and beginning the show by telling us of her previous shows that had always been rather sparsely attended, and told us of one show with only one woman in the audience of a show that required a lot of audience participation. A comedy show about feminism could be seen my some to be a bit boring, but even the biggest sexist couldn't accuse Bridget of that. Her Stirling Moss routine provides a combination of silliness and discomfort from some parts of the room, which ends up with her reading an email that Moss himself has sent her.

She responds to a non-existent heckle that Bob has apparently made about shy she doesn't tackle the bigger subjects such as FGM, and tells us of her one woman crusade to dispose of any lads mags she finds at a child's eye height, as well as handing out a "money prize" during the 30 second section of the show completely dedicated to the lads.

She goes on to talk about the eponymous "Bic For Her" and argues that the lack of a ladies pen may be why the Austen sisters were so bad at writing. The show ends as a tribute to Malala Yousafzai, and Bridget reads from the speech she gave at the UN, but just as the mood starts to get too serious, she punctures it with a great call back to the ladies pen.

Bridget has already sold out two runs of this and will be back doing more in March so if you haven't seen this show, then please do try to get a ticket, but get one fast because the March run will obviously sell out too. I spoke to Bridget in the bar and asked her that as she is doing so many performances of this show, does she ever get bored saying the same things.

About Me

A devotee of live comedy, particularly smaller shows, as well as independent comedy podcasts such as Collings & Herrin and Precious Little.
Follow me on Twitter: @AndyMcH and check out my Youtube channel: MouthfullUK